MANAGING METROPOLITAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA*

Abstract

This paper examines selected problems of managing growth in large Asian cities. Managing the national urban system presents difficult problems because of the very high capital costs associated with absorbing population in the very large metropolitan areas. Cost savings from promoting a decentralized settlement pattern are small compared with reductions in nationwide infrastructure standards and other non‐spatial strategies. Asian cities have not managed spatial decentralization very well. A sound approach may involve more intervention in some spheres (e.g. accelerating the supply of basic services to newly developed residential neighborhoods) and less intervention in others (e.g. prior selection of subcenters, large‐scale land acquisition and other land use controls). Urban service delivery strategies have been hampered by the lack of resources, timidity in the introduction of cost recovery systems, and inadequate operations and maintenance.